Tis The Season To Be Jolly
by Mayumi-san
Summary: It's the most wonderful time of the year! But for one person, it's also the busiest. He has been able to manage it in the past, but this time around, he needs help. Now a two-shot.
1. The Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story. I'll expand on this later.

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><p><strong>I. The Meeting<strong>

It was a dark and dingy room in an abandoned building, far away from the city proper. Why the client chose this site to be the meeting place, he had no idea.

Perhaps the client brought him out all the way here to test his abilities - as some of them do. If so, he found that amusing. His abilities were not a secret. Anybody who did their research should know that he was counted as among the best in the industry. If the client wanted to test him, he was more than ready for it.

Or perhaps the client had something to hide - as most of them do - but this particular one seemed to take great pains in keeping as much information about himself as possible. He found that amusing as well. Whether the client had a criminal record or not was not really his concern - a lot of them did. What mattered was whether the job would be something worthy of his time.

He could see the outline of the client's shadow across the room - and what a huge outline it was. The client was not tall, just thick around the middle. Hanging from his mouth was a clay pipe, where tendrils of white smoke wafted up, filling the musty air with the scent of... What was that?... Peppermint?

As he stepped closer out of the shadows, he noticed that the client had a white beard that flowed from his broad face.

"You're here," the client said.

"As agreed," he replied.

The client took a whiff from his pipe and exhaled. "I've heard that you're the best at what you do."

He didn't think the statement warranted a response, so he just looked the client in the eye.

"You're not the chatty type, I see," the client said, chuckling.

There was something odd about the way the client chuckled, as if he could not keep his lips from rounding themselves, resulting in a chuckle that sounded like "Ho, ho, ho, ho..."

The client stopped chuckling, smiled, then said, "Let's get down to business, then."

He nodded, ready to listen.

"The job...," the client began. "... is not an easy one. I've always done it myself every year, however... this year, I am having some..." He paused as he searched for the right word. "... difficulties, which make it necessary for me to seek your assistance."

The client inhaled from his pipe again, then blew soft billows of smoke.

"As you know, when my elf... err.. assistant... contacted you," he continued. "... my name's Nicholas. You've probably heard my other names - Kris Kringle, Father Christmas - " He paused. "... and the most popular one - Santa Claus."

He stared at the client.

"I need a transporter of your caliber to help me transport Christmas presents this year." The client took a deep breath, then continued, "Would you do it..." He then looked directly into the eyes of the man in front of him. "... Dr. Jackal?"

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><p>AN: The full disclaimer is as follows:

Akabane Kuruodo, or Dr. Jackal, is owned by Rando Ayamine and Yuya Aoki. And Santa Claus is owned by... ummm.. I don't know who owns Santa Claus, but it's certainly not me.

Well, this is just me enjoying the Christmas spirit. Yes, I had (disturbing) thoughts of Akabane delivering Christmas presents (*shudder*). I don't really plan on expanding this story, since this is all I have :P Anyway, hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!


	2. Christmas Cheer

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of these characters.

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><p><strong>II. Christmas Cheer<strong>

The white shirt hung loosely over his thin shoulders. Its sleeves, which puffed around his arms, had been kept from dangling over his hands by cuffs secured with a white button made of some glimmery material that he couldn't recognize; and as he pulled the plush-lined trousers up to his waist, he quickly confirmed his suspicion that the suspenders that were supposed to hold them up were not enough.

The waistline was huge.

He held the top of the trousers by his waist for a moment as he pondered on how to secure the overly loose garment. He let his purple eyes wander, scanning the room as he tried to find some kind of tool, any tool, that might be able to help him with his predicament.

Finding no suitable instrument, he decided to instead just use his own. Holding the trousers with one hand, he held up the other, then flexed it. A scalpel appeared, sliding out almost instantaneously from the space between his index and middle fingers. He flipped the instrument gracefully and, with deft accuracy, pierced its tip through the top of the trousers, weaving it skillfully across the fabric. Out of his hand appeared another scalpel, which he then used to lock the other one in place.

He looked at his handiwork with satisfaction. His skills as a surgeon came in handy at the oddest places sometimes.

Next were the boots. He slid his feet smoothly down the fur-lined boot tops, noticing pleasantly how quickly they warmed up his toes. His client really knew how to handle year-round winters, he mused as he neatly tucked the excess fabric of the pant legs into the boot tops.

He then took a few steps over to the desk that was by the corner of the room, on which rested a pair of gloves. Pristine and white, just the way he liked gloves to be. He picked them up, and he briefly wondered how the crimson color of blood would look like on them.

He smiled.

He carefully slipped his fingers into the gloves, which were a lot warmer than his surgical ones, then turned towards the coat rack, reaching for the plush-lined coat that was hanging there. He had just slid his arms through the sleeves when he paused.

This was definitely not his style of clothing, he thought as he looked back at the rack - more specifically, at the other coat that was on it - a black one, the one that he had been so used to wearing. This coat that he currently had on felt almost too comfortable, too luxurious.

But then again, unlike his own coat, this one was more suited to extreme weather conditions.

He put the wide black belt through the belt loops around the coat. Noting that there weren't any belt holes that corresponded to his slender waist, he decided to tackle that nuisance in the similar fashion that he handled the trouser predicament - with his scalpels.

Granted, the hole that he had created on the belt wasn't a perfect circle (scalpels weren't really designed for that), but at least the belt rested comfortably around his waist, tightening the oversized coat and making him look... well, a lot less bloated.

And now for the final piece of clothing.

His eyes looked longingly at his black wide-brimmed hat. Oh, how he would much rather wear that than this... piece of cloth that passed as headwear. He sighed as he put it on, carefully arranging the white wool trimming at the bottom of the hat around his head. The white round pom-pom that was at the top of the hat dangled down the side.

He cringed as he looked at the window, not because of the view of the snow-covered landscape outside that it provided - which was nothing short of majestic - but because he caught sight of his reflection on its glass, making him wonder once again why he agreed to this arrangement. Yes, he knew that this job would challenge him, which was why he accepted it, but he never anticipated that it would require donning a Santa suit.

And not just _any_ Santa suit. This one was _the_ Santa suit.

_"For this to work, you need to wear something that has been soaked, washed, dried, and pressed with Christmas cheer," his client had explained to him._

He never really understood what that meant. He had tried to ask for further explanation, but his client had just laughed - with that iconic sound of laughter that became so much associated with his identity.

_"Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" The client had then given him a jolly wink, saying, "You'll see, Dr. Jackal. You'll see."_

Now that he was all decked out in Christmas-laden cheer, he still didn't understand what the client meant.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened, and a diminutive creature wearing a green pointed hat peeked in. "Dr. Jackal?" At the transporter's nod, the green-clad elf stepped into the room. "The sleigh has been loaded."

Akabane Kuruodo watched as the elf walked towards him, its red-and-white-striped-stockinged legs and green pointed shoes moving across the wooden floor. He found it curiously fascinating how soft ringing sounds - like small bells - could be heard with each step that the creature took.

Soon, the transporter found the source of the ringing sound.

"Here," the elf said as he held up two small bells in his tiny hand.

Not quite sure what to make of them, Akabane took them from the elf, frowning slightly as he did so.

"Jingle bells," the elf said, the expression in his face indicating his confusion on how anybody could possibly not know what they were. At the still puzzled look in the transporter's face, he explained, "You need them for the sleigh."

"Oh," was all Akabane said.

Feeling uncomfortable under the transporter's scrutinizing gaze, the elf then said hurriedly, "The reindeer are currently being bridled. Once that is done, everything will be all ready for takeoff." Knowing that bowing was a form of respect in the transporter's culture, the elf bowed, then scuttled hastily back towards the door. "We will be waiting for you at the launching pad."

Akabane watched as the elf shut the door, amused at the little creature's hurry to get away from his presence.

The transporter smiled.

"This will be interesting."

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><p>AN: My muse went away for a little while, but then came back dressed in Christmas cheer. Thus, the second chapter of this fic was born.

I still don't have a plot, so I will leave you to fill in the blanks :) But I do want to thank those of you who left a review last year. It was a really nice Christmas present :)

So before I sign out for the year, let me just wish you all again a merry Christmas and a happy new year!


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